Edinger will sit out practice on Friday to rest a sore right (kicking) foot. "He has a little foot thing going on," coach Mike Tice told KFAN 1130 am in Minneapolis. "It is nothing other than a little bit of pain, but I am going to pull off of him on Friday and not allow him to kick. We’ll see how that helps him out."

Edinger struggled with his kickoffs and missed a field goal in Friday's preseason game, KFAN 1130 in Minneapolis reports. He twice failed to reach the 10-yard line on a kickoff, but did make three of four field goals, missing from 38 yards.

Edinger made all four field goal attempts, including a 50-yard field goal, during Friday's preseason game. He handled all the kicking duties after Aaron Elling hurt his right hip flexor during warm-ups, KFAN 1130 am in Minneapolis reports.

After struggling with his accuracy the last couple seasons, Edinger was released by the Bears in May and quickly scooped up by the Vikings. At press time, coach Mike Tice claims that incumbent Aaron Elling is the frontrunner for the job, but the two will compete in camp, and we believe Edinger has the edge, due in part to Minnesota’s past interest in him (the Vikings made an offer to Edinger in 2003, but the Bears matched it). There’s even a chance the team could keep both, with Edinger handling field goals and Elling used on kickoffs. If Edinger were to win the job outright, he’d be kicking for a dome team with a good offense, so there’s some upside here.

2004

The Bears’ offense wasn’t entirely impotent as it was able to get Edinger in range 36 times, fifth-highest in the league. The offense figures to struggle to find the end zone once again as Rex Grossman will be the third quarterback to open the season in the last three years. Edinger has been through it all and watched his numbers suffer. He’s averaged just 27.8 extra points in his four years in Chicago. But Edinger was not without blame in 2003, hitting just 72.2 percent of his field-goal attempts, including four misses between 30-39 yards. Edinger does have a very strong leg, though – he’s made 10 of 14 career attempts from 50-plus.

2003

Bad offensive teams sometimes produce solid fantasy kickers, but that won't be the case with the Bears in 2003. Edinger scored only 95 points last season and attempted just 20 field goals inside the 50. The Bears offense simply needs to get him more opportunities, as Edinger can hit from long distance, making 7 of 10 beyond the 50 in his career and 5 of 8 last season. He's as good as any kicker in the league, but is saddled with a weak offense.